


Soothing

by kiyala



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Dyslexia, Kissing, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-03 22:00:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12757002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: Wylan's first business meeting leaves him in need of comfort. Luckily, Jesper's right there.





	Soothing

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to bent for the hand-holding, and for being the reason I picked up these books in the first place.

The first word that made it out of Wylan's mouth when they arrived home was, "Jesper." 

He hated how it sounded, thin and shaky, like every passing second in the business meeting made it more difficult to breathe. All the contracts placed in front of him were undecipherable, endless pages with words that made no sense, scrawled across the page like a net made to ensnare him. 

"Jes—"

"Right here." A warm hand covered his. Wylan was sure that his palms had been sweating since he sat down at the meeting, but Jesper's grip didn't falter, just the same as his voice hadn't, soft and sure as he'd read the contracts out to Wylan the night before in preparation for this meeting. 

As far as meetings went, it had been a success. A new partnership struck up with a trader who could get their hands on the chemicals that Wylan wanted. He hadn't declared that it was to experiment with making an antidote for _jurda parem_ , but that wasn't anyone's business just yet. All that his new trade partner needed to know was that he had a keen interest in chemistry, and was looking to turn this into a marketable skill. It wouldn't stand out, when he was looking into buying out tanneries, printing presses, and a range of other places where he could apply his knowledge. 

Still, it had been the first business meeting in his newly begun career as a mercher, and a life he had never once thought he would be living. 

His mother was most probably standing by the waterside, paintbrush in her hand. Inej was briefly home from sea, but he knew better than to assume where she was unless she made her presence clear. The servants waited out of sight, having already unpacked the carriage and put Wylan's briefcase away in the room he'd turned into his own office, across the house from the one his father had used. 

They could all wait, Wylan thought to himself. He needed a moment.

“Are you busy?” Wylan asked, knowing that Jesper would read between the lines to understand what he was really asking. 

Instead of seeking out cards tables after stressful situations, Jesper was getting into the habit of walking to the Exchange, checking on how his stocks were going. The odds were better than cards anyway; while luck never seemed to shine on Jesper, he was much better at predicting the way the markets would go and picking where his money went. It wasn't an exact science, but that was probably why Jesper enjoyed it as much as he did. The business meeting had been stressful for Wylan, but he didn’t know if it was enough to send Jesper seeking out some sort of thrill. 

Wylan hoped not. He needed Jesper with him, as much as he didn’t want to put it into words. 

“I’m right here,” Jesper murmured again, lips brushing against the tip of Wylan’s ear. “What do you need?”

With a soft exhale, Wylan squeezed Jesper’s fingers in his own. “Can we go to the office?”

Instead of using the office that his father had used, Wylan had repurposed a room on the opposite end of the house. Despite having the hole in the floor of his father's office fixed, there was nothing for Wylan in that room but bad memories. 

Wylan’s office was different. It wasn’t made for Wylan alone; everywhere that he had a seat, there was one for Jesper beside him. Wylan hadn’t asked how long Jesper was staying, not knowing how to broach the subject. It had taken a week of Wylan tiptoeing around the idea—long enough for him to have been healed of his wounds and start rebuilding his life—when Jesper had backed him up against a wall and murmured, _I’m staying as long as you’ll have me, stop frowning like that_ , right against his lips. It was all the reassurance that Wylan needed. 

The contract was already sitting on the desk for review, and Jesper stepped towards it, to take his seat there. 

“Wait.” Wylan pulled him back by the hand. “Not there.”

Jesper turned to him then, taking Wylan’s face in both hands and looking at him. Wylan held his gaze, resisting the urge to look at his lips, to tempt Jesper into kissing him and derail their conversation before it could begin. Jesper's thumbs were stroking back and forth across Wylan's cheeks; he was never good at remaining entirely still, but Wylan took comfort in that, too. 

“You were amazing,” Jesper told him, so plain, so matter of fact, that Wylan could feel his cheeks heat at the sudden praise. “You did everything right. You know what you’re doing, even though you’re worried that you don’t. I could tell. Everyone could tell.”

“I just…” Wylan began, and shut his eyes with frustration at himself. “I never thought I’d be here.”

“I never thought I’d be here either,” Jesper replied with a quiet laugh. He rested his forehead against Wylan’s. “But here we are.”

Wylan took a moment to just breathe. Jesper was right. They’d survived the Ice Court and everything that had come after. This time, there was no one out to kill them. He wished that it was enough to let him relax. 

Jesper traced his thumb over Wylan's lower lip, and kissed the tip of his nose. “Now, be a good mercher and tell me what you want me to do, hm?”

“Read to me?” Wylan asked, immediately feeling embarrassed for it. “Not the contract. Something else. Anything.”

“Anything,” Jesper repeated, taking Wylan’s hand and walking over to the bookcase against the wall. 

It was a recent addition to the house, bought by Jesper and filled with books that caught his eye. Some for their covers, some for their stories and others for the fact that they were downright filthy, but they all had one thing in common: they were books that they only ever read together, with Jesper reading aloud and Wylan listening. 

Wylan took a seat in the small couch in the corner of the office and watched as Jesper’s fingers danced along the spines of the books, as sure as they were on the handles of his guns. He recognised the book that Jesper pulled out, from its binding and the weight of it in Jesper’s hands. It wasn’t half as filthy as what Wylan was expecting, but that was okay. It was written with the sort of irreverent humour that made Jesper chuckle as he read, and then laugh louder again with Wylan. 

It was exactly what Wylan needed. Somehow, Jesper could just tell. 

Sitting, Jesper let their shoulders brush against each other. Wylan leaned into Jesper’s side, not even caring to be subtle about it, when this contact was what he needed. There wasn’t any point with things like these, when Jesper had already seen him in more vulnerable states. He didn’t think any less of Wylan for this, or for anything else. 

Taking a breath, Jesper started reading. 

When Wylan told his father that Jesper had a soothing baritone, knew his words were true, but he hadn’t considered just how much truth they held, and just how soothing it was to listen to Jesper’s voice. 

He knew it wasn't quite about how deep and even Jesper's voice was, but more about who it belonged to. Jesper was soothing himself, a reassuring presence by Wylan’s side and yet his own person at the same time, steady without being overbearing. 

By the end of the first paragraph, Jesper’s hand was resting on Wylan’s knee. He liked to touch, and it was something that Wylan knew, but there was something new about this particular touch that Wylan was beginning to notice; Jesper’s index finger would tap against Wylan’s knee, keeping time with the cadence of his reading.

He was giving his words a beat, a way for Wylan to relate and remember them, and the thing was, Jesper probably didn’t even realise that he was doing it. That was just the kind of person Jesper was. He never made Wylan feel like he was inferior for what he couldn't do, and he never even brought it up, just simply took it into stride and accommodated it without thought. 

Jesper was still reading. Wylan blinked, realising he’d lost track of the story. He couldn't recall any of the words, or the steady beat that they had been put to, all because his mind was full of Jesper instead.

“Wylan?” Jesper asked, looking up from the book, noticing that he was distracted.

“Sorry,” he replied immediately, averting his gaze. “I was just…”

 _Thinking that I might be in love with you_ , Wylan realised, his stomach dropping out. 

“You’re getting distracted by my good looks, aren’t you?” Jesper teased, grinning. 

"Well," Wylan said softly. "Not just your looks." 

A small grin spread across Jesper's lips, the way it often did whenever Wylan was this direct about how he felt. Shutting the book and placing it aside, Jesper turned in his seat so that he was facing Wylan, a sign that his attention wasn't going to be anywhere else for a while.

"So," Jesper raised an eyebrow. "What else do you like about me?"

"Did you want a list?" Wylan asked. "I can't write."

“You think you’re so clever,” Jesper muttered, failing at biting back his smile. 

“So do you,” Wylan hummed. “You were saying it to me just the other night.”

“Wy,” Jesper laughed, resting his head on Wylan’s shoulder. The brush of his hair tickled against Wylan’s jaw and when he looked up, his eyes were light with amusement but Wylan could see something darker sparking to life at the reminder. 

“You’re awful. I’ve been such a bad influence on this innocent little merchling.”

Wylan kissed him then, slow and filthy to properly demonstrate the depths of Jesper’s influence. When they pulled apart, Jesper was short of breath and Wylan licked his lips with his best approximation of a sly smile. 

“I like what you’ve done to me.”

Cursing under his breath, Jesper pulled him into another kiss. “Me too.”

Kissing Jesper sometimes felt overwhelming, in the best possible way. Wylan wrapped his arms around Jesper’s shoulders, holding him close, parting his lips to deepen their kiss. Jesper hummed low at the back of his throat and when they finally pulled apart, Wylan rested their foreheads together, catching his breath. 

“I like your voice,” he murmured, the moment he could trust his own to work. 

Jesper laughed. “I thought I wasn’t getting a list?”

“You won’t be, if you’re going to interrupt,” Wylan warned, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Sorry.” Jesper was pitching his voice deliberately low, and Wylan couldn’t find it in himself to complain. 

He didn’t bother trying to hide the way it made him shiver, either. Jesper noticed; Wylan could feel the curve of a smile against his neck, quick and soft as a heartbeat. Kissing the sensitive skin, Jesper trailed his lips along Wylan’s jaw, to his ear. This close, and Wylan could feel Jesper’s words as rumbles that shook their way through him, down to his core. 

“Please. Don’t let me stop you.”

“I like when you say that,” Wylan hummed. “ _Please_. Don’t interrupt me again.”

“Bossy,” Jesper remarked, the corners of his lips pulling up into a smirk. “Like a good mercher.”

Wylan took Jesper’s face into both hands, kissing him soundly. He leaned back, gaze dropping to Jesper’s lips. He liked them as they were but it was even more satisfying looking at them like this, flushed and swollen from their kisses. 

Jesper looked like he wanted to comment on it, his lips parting before he remembered himself and shut his mouth again. Wylan grinned, kissing him again, briefly this time, and remaining close enough that their breaths mingled. 

“I like when you listen to me,” Wylan whispered, resting his hands on Jesper’s shoulders. He let himself feel their angles, his fingers trailing down Jesper's arms until they met the point where he'd rolled his sleeves up. Jesper's skin was warm, the muscles of his forearms firm under the surface, and Wylan took a moment to just touch, using the contact to ground himself. 

"…I like your hands," Wylan continued, taking Jesper's hands into both of his own and linking their fingers together. "I like what they can do."

Jesper smirked, the temptation too great for him to resist. "That sounds dirty, Wy."

"I didn't mean it like that." Wylan wished that he didn't blush so easily. He squeezed Jesper's hands. "I meant that you're good with your guns. With manipulating material." 

"Wylan." In an instant, Jesper went cautious and guarded. He was getting better at talking about this, but that still didn't mean he liked it.

"I've been to my first business meeting." Wylan shifted closer on the couch, facing Jesper so that their knees were touching. "That was the deal, wasn't it? When I went to my first business meeting, we'd also start looking into finding you a teacher so you can learn more about what you can do. Remember how Genya said that it doesn't matter what age you start—"

"I remember," Jesper interrupted, trying to pull his hands away and then sighing when Wylan only held on tighter. "I do."

Bringing their joined hands to his lips, Wylan kissed the backs of Jesper's hands. "I think you're amazing. I'm not going to push you into doing anything you're not ready for. I just want you to know that when you want to start looking for someone who can help you, I'll be right here."

"How did we start talking about me?" Jesper muttered, shaking his head. "I thought we were talking about you, and how well you did today."

Wylan raised an eyebrow. "Here I thought we were talking about everything I liked about you. I like that you're a fabrikator. I like that you're scared too, you know. Makes me feel like less of a coward, for not feeling ready to handle any of… this." 

"You're not a coward." Jesper's voice was even firmer now. "I'm not going to sit here and let you call yourself that. You're doing something that terrifies you, but you're not letting that stop you. You make me want to be better." 

Letting go of Jepser's hands, Wylan smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "I like you as you are, you know. And if you learned more about your abilities as a fabrikator and used them more, I'd probably still like you. There's… not a lot you could do to make me stop liking you."

Instead of teasing, the way Wylan expected, Jesper gave him a soft smile and touched their foreheads together. "You deserve better than me."

"I deserve what I want, for once in my life," Wylan replied and quieter, added, "I want you. No one else."

It was rare to render Jesper speechless but he was staring at Wylan, his expression open and vulnerable for only a split second, but it was enough to see the effect that his words had. Wylan smiled at him, kissing him firmly. Somewhere along the way, his heart had stopped racing, the stress of the business meeting already something of the past. That was just what Jesper did to him; for all that he could steal Wylan's breath away with a simple look or a brief kiss, he made it easier to breathe, too. 

"Do you feel better?" Jesper asked, nuzzling against Wylan's cheek. 

"I do." Relaxing into the sofa, Wylan leaned against his side. "Keep reading to me. I like your voice, remember?"

"Yeah." Jesper wrapped his arm around Wylan's waist, pulling him closer. "I know you do."


End file.
